


the night burns in your hands

by adamngoodbatch (sibbed)



Series: Drabbles, prompts & whatever [12]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Heatwave, M/M, Power Outage, Skinny Dipping, Then Gone Right, author has no idea what the fuck is going on, first day gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24953227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sibbed/pseuds/adamngoodbatch
Summary: There’s just barely enough sunlight left that Buck can see every single inch of exposed skin, but he tries to avert his eyes. He really tries. “Skinny dipping in your backyard, Eddie? Really?”“What? You said the heat was unbearable. I’m trying to make it more bearable. For you.”
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Drabbles, prompts & whatever [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745209
Comments: 32
Kudos: 270





	the night burns in your hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jecari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jecari/gifts).



> So, Lou said "Let your brain run wild into the forest of words and go skinny dipping into the ocean of ideas"  
> And Jen said "Even better: write skinny dipping"
> 
> And Sib did this *gestures all around this mess of a fic*

The evening is heavy but the rain won’t come. The heatwave doesn’t relent and the air feels sticky. An hour before Buck has to pick Eddie up for their date, there’s a power outage all over the city. Buck finds himself halfway through his shower when the lights go out. He walks out of the bathroom and searches for his phone to text Eddie.

_This is unbelievable. Power went out here._

_Same here_

_I can’t stand this heat without an AC, it’s unbearable_

_I know_

_And I don’t think we’ll be able to go to the restaurant either_

_Wait a sec, I’ll call them to check_

_👍_

Buck phone rings five minutes later. He’s changed and laying on the floor trying to soak up some of the coolness from the tiles. He doesn’t even check who it is before picking up. “This is really unbearable.”

“Hey, Buck, how are you?” Eddie teases.

“Shut up, the heat makes me cranky and you know it.”

“So, the restaurant won’t be open.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“You could come over anyway, I’ll make something up.”

“Fine, at least I’ll have the AC on during the ride there.”

“You really can’t live without your AC, huh?”

“I really, really can’t.”

There’s still some sunlight brightening the sky when Buck arrives at Eddie’s. He parks his Jeep and the moment the AC is turned off he feels the air from the outside seep into the Jeep and cling to his body. He moves slowly towards the front door, every step dragging in front of the other while the heat pulls him down. 

Eddie’s nowhere to be found. He wanders from the living room into the kitchen and still no Eddie anywhere. He turns to go check the bedroom but he catches sight of a few candles outside. Buck peeks his head through the slightly ajar sliding door.

“Hey.”

“Buck, welcome.”

There’s an inflatable pool in the backyard filled with water. Eddie’s taken the time to light the path to the pool with fake candles, placing some around the pool itself. “So-” Buck takes a step outside and looks around, “-this is nice.”

Eddie doesn’t answer. He pours two glasses of sparkling wine and hands one to Buck, gulping his down. Buck stares in awe as Eddie’s Adam’s apple bobs up and down. The movement is entrancing and Buck allows himself to get lost in it, but suddenly Eddie is undressing. He’s taking off his shoes and then his shirt. Buck feels his cheeks burn hot and he gazes at the grass for a second.

“For someone who complains so much about the heat, you’re wearing an excessive amount of clothes, Buck.” Eddie takes his shorts off and with them goes his boxer briefs. 

There’s just barely enough sunlight left that Buck can see every single inch of exposed skin, but he tries to avert his eyes. He really tries. “Skinny dipping in your backyard, Eddie? Really?”

“What? You said the heat was unbearable. I’m trying to make it more bearable. For you.”

Buck chuckles but it comes out shy. “Ok.” He is surprisingly self-conscious about stripping in front of Eddie in the middle of his backyard. 

They’ve seen each other naked, of course they have, but tonight it means something else. There’s an anticipation that comes from knowing that tonight was supposed to be their first date. Tonight they were supposed to make _this_ something _more_.

Eddie goes into the water and it seems he just wanted to give Buck a nice show before turning back into a complete and absolute gentleman. He kneels in a corner and turns his back to Buck and gives him some privacy to strip.

As if they are not about to be huddled together in a tiny inflatable pool that Eddie most definitely got for Chris.

Buck feels ridiculous. He takes a sip of his wine and sighs. He’s been standing there for so long that the remaining sunlight is now gone and the only light illuminating them comes from those fake candles scattered around them. He shouldn’t be this nervous about it, but he is and he strips as fast as his hands can work his denim shorts’ button and fly and jumps in the water taking a seat opposite to where Eddie is kneeling. 

The bottle of sparkling wine sits beside the pool and Eddie reaches for it and refills his glass. He stays still with his head tilted up, looking at the sky. 

Buck slides down in the water and his feet graze Eddies’ calves. He takes another sip of the wine and chokes on it. The cough makes Eddie finally turn around on his knees to look at Buck. He slides into the water and their legs tangle.

It's dark now, so dark that Buck can't see what he actually wants to see. Even though they are both acting like they don't want to. But they do, Buck does, he wants to _see_ and maybe touch too. But the heat is unmanageable and it’s so hot that the water is actually lukewarm and doesn't help refresh them at all. Breathing the hot air that surrounds them feels like filling their lungs with jello.

"Fuck.” Eddie stands up and reaches for a towel. “This is not working, it was a bad idea, let's just get out."

Buck gulps down the rest of his wine and with his free hand grabs Eddie by the wrist. It's not the kind of touch he had in mind but it’s a point of contact. A vanishing point where all the heat can converge. A point where Eddie can feel _him_.

“And here I thought that you were being so cheeky and courageous,” Buck tugs at Eddie’s wrist, “so at ease and self-assured. You were making _me_ feel uncertain and shy, Eds,” Buck laughs. “Me, shy.”

Eddie slips beside Buck, towel forgotten to the side. “You, shy?” Eddie sends him a questioning look, inching closer to him.

They are so close now and yet not close enough. Buck is still holding onto Eddie like a lifeline. He lets his fingers slide down the inside of Eddie’s wrist and then he intertwines their fingers. Eddie slowly scoots closer and closer and turns to look at Buck. Their breaths are mixing together and their noses brush.

Buck is suddenly very aware that they are naked in a pool filled with lukewarm water holding hands and he feels like a teenager again. He’s thirteen and his heart is beating out of his chest. His stomach is in a knot and there’re butterflies trying to crawl out of his throat.

“You, Edmundo Diaz, make me feel like a teenager again, ok? So yeah, me, shy.”

Eddie surges forward and when their lips meet the energy of the movement makes the pool jiggle, water going overboard all around. 

The kiss is a mess with crashing lips and teeth and Eddie cackles and his laugh is contagious, seeping into Buck’s heart. “God, I’m so in love with you.”

“Good thing then that I’m in love with you too.”


End file.
